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Friday, August 17, 2012

Interview with romantic suspense author Elaine Cantrell

Romantic suspense author Elaine Cantrell is here today as part of a virtual book tour with Goddess Fish for her novel Never Trust a Pretty Wolf.

As part of the tour, Elaine will be giving away a $25 Amazon gift card to one randomly drawn commentor during the tour. If you'd like to be entered to win, leave an e-mail address with your comment below. And if you want more chances to win, follow the tour and comment at other stops.

Bio:

Elaine Cantrell was born and raised in South Carolina. She holds a Master’s Degree in Personnel
Services from ClemsonUniversity and is a
member of Alpha Delta Kappa, an international honorary sorority for women
educators. She is also a member of
Romance Writers of America and EPIC
authors. Her first novel, A New Leaf,
was the 2003 winner of the Timeless Love Contest and was published in 2004 by
Oak Tree Books.

Never Trust a Pretty Wolf, is one of three that I’ve had so
far this year, and in case you’re wondering, I’m overwhelmed with trying to
promote three books at one time.

Never
Trust a Pretty Wolf touches on several themes. The first and probably the most
important is forgiveness. Both my hero and heroine have serious issues in their
pasts that make them feel they need forgiveness. These issues are so serious
that when my heroine learns about what my hero did, she isn’t sure she can
forgive him. So, the story is partly about their search for forgiveness and
redemption.

The
book is also a story about starting over. Both Liesel and Andy remind me of a
phoenix who rises from his own ashes to begin a new life. Ultimately, this is
what both Liesel and Andy want-a new life.

And
of course there is a bad guy. I don’t mean a kind of bad guy. I mean a guy one
local sheriff called a criminal ‘heavy hitter’. Even my hero believes that he’d
rather not meet William Wolf without backup. But you know he does.

What
inspired you to write this book?

That’s
a good question, and in this case very easy to answer. I wrote the book because
I Iove romantic suspense. I never really thought about it until I sat down one
day to do an inventory of the books I had on hand. They were all romances of
course, but most of them had elements of suspense in them, and one book was
totally romantic suspense. Once I understood how much I liked the genre it was
a simple matter to sit down and plan the book.

Excerpt:

Andy’s hand shot out. “Give me that
gun,” he commanded.

“No.”

He took it from her with ease. “I
don’t know why you have this,” he whispered, “but if we get out of here alive
you have some explaining to do. Now, keep moving but stay in control. Remember,
no headlong plunges into the woods.”

Forty‑five minutes later, they exited the
woods near the bridge that crossed the little creek. Liesel fearfully scanned
the inviting, family‑centered
area. “I don’t see anyone.”

“Two o’clock. Men in khaki.” Andy
came to a halt and jerked her against him. “Kiss me like you mean it.”

Liesel didn’t mind if she did.
Hopefully the khaki men would never imagine that two lovers out for a stroll
had only moments before been running for their very lives. She prayed the men
didn’t get too good a look at them. Throwing her arms around him, she pressed
her body against his.

She wouldn’t have admitted to
it for anything, but in spite of the danger, she felt a thrill from the top of
her head to the bottom of her feet. Nobody could kiss like Andy Bryce!

Andy took her hand, and they
strolled casually across the bridge as if they’d been on a leisurely little
walk. He kissed her again before they got into the Mustang. The minute they got
in, he put the car in gear and slowly made his way out of the park. “Now,
Liesel,” he said. “Why don’t you tell me why those men are trying to kill you?”

What
exciting story are you working on next?

The
book I’m working on now doesn’t have a title yet, but it’s a romantic comedy.
Sometimes when authors write books they’re aiming for a particular market, but
right now I’m just writing what makes me feel happy. Guess what? Even though
the book is a romantic comedy, you could also bill it as romantic suspense. One
of my main characters fakes his own death because he has to enter the witness
protection program. He testified against a drug kingpin whose family is out to
get him.

This
book is inspired by my grandson, David. David’s seven and in love with WWE
wrestling. He begged me to write a wrestling story, so my hero is a former
wrestler.

I
think just writing something because you want to is a good idea. When I read
some of my rough draft to my husband, he laughed.

When
did you first consider yourself a writer?

Not
until I got my first book published, but I should have considered myself a
writer from the first day I sat down at my keyboard to write. Any person who
takes the time to write fiction is a writer. They may not be a published
writer, but they are a writer.

Do
you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and
how do you find time to write?

I’m
still working full time. I teach social studies at our local high school. At
school we have four ninety minute classes each day with forty minutes for
lunch. Each teacher has students for three of the four periods with the other
period being free. It isn’t easy to find enough time to write. Sometimes I
write during lunch, and after I get home from school I sit down at my keyboard
for a few hours.

Now
in the summer time things are different. I get up and check my email first,
then spend several hours writing. I break for lunch and the early part of the
afternoon, and then I’ll do a little more before and after dinner.

What
would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I
have to have a tapping straw on hand when I write. Oh, I know, it sounds
ridiculous. I’ve found that when I’m thinking or proofreading, I can think so
much better if I have a straw to twirl around in my fingers. It has to be one
of the bendy ones, not straight, and the bend has to be at exactly the right
angle. My family thinks I’m crazy, but I’ve noticed that they can’t keep their
hands off my straw. They refuse to get one of their own, though. I bought a
huge bag of straws so I can have a fresh one when they mess up the angle on
mine.

As
a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Not
a clue. If anybody ever asked me I’d have said either a ballerina or a
secretary because those were acceptable occupations for a girl way back when.
LOL. The idea of me being a ballerina is hilarious. I can’t walk two steps
without falling over my own feet. I’m also built like my mother-short and
stout. Ballerinas are not short and stout.

Anything
additional you want to share with the readers?

I’d
just like to say that I really do appreciate anyone who takes the time to read
my work. I’ve gotten some nice compliments and reviews, and then again I’ve
gotten some that aren’t so nice, but either way, I feel truly humble that a
person would choose to share their time with me and my book.

I’d
love to hear from you too. I got an email just the other day from a lady who
read The Sentence. She told me it touched her heart and was exactly what she
needed to read. I think I was smiling for the remainder of the day. You can
reach me at admin@elainecantrell.com.

Lisa,
thank you so much for letting me come to your blog. I’ve enjoyed your
questions.

Happy to host a stop along your tour, Elaine. Thanks for talking with us. Readers, don't forget about the gift card giveaway! If you want to be entered to win, just leave an e-mail address with your comment.

Rising from the ashes like the Phoenix....I like that image. After having read the excerpt, I know that I must read this book! I admire people and characters who have the moxie to soldier on, no matter what.Susan Shapleysusanshapley@sutv.com

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Blog Tour Partner - Goddess Fish

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About Me

I'm a NH native and love New England. I love writing about the region, exploring it on foot, on my bicycle, and in my car. There are so many small communities and fun and interesting people in this area, that I could be here a lifetime and not do all it is I want to do. :)

I'm a moderator at The Writer's Chatroom that hosts live chats with guest authors on Sunday nights 7-9PM EST. Join the e-mail list to get notifications of upcoming guests, then stop in and join the conversation!